Lunch and Dinner

As far back as I can remember there has been issue with what to call the last two meals of the day. My dad is a firm believer in "dinner" at noon and "supper" at 5:00 p.m., which is sort of silly because he rarely eats at those times. I'm more of a lunch and dinner kind of girl. Regardless of what you call it, it can ALWAYS be healthy AND delicious!

I pack my lunch and eat at the office almost every day of the week. I like to do this not only for the cost savings (hello?!?!). Today, like many days, I packed a salad. Instead of adding a meat, I chose black beans as an alternate protein. I may not always succeed but I try to provide myself with all of the nutrients I need each meal, and incorporate anything missing into my snacks.

This time of year is my favorite because of all the fresh produce. My parents are smart and generous and planted a garden and are sharing with me. I sometimes find myself with an overabundance and assortment of fresh goodies. Wednesday night I sliced up a yellow squash, an eggplant (not the big, fat ones but the long skinny variety...much better!), an onion sauteed them in a pan. At the end I added a handful of fresh spinach until it wilted. I took a whole wheat tortilla, a slice of provolone cheese, added my veggies, returned the pan to heat all the way through and melt the cheese and voila, veggie quesadilla!

Super fast and easy, and fully adjustable to your taste or produce available. And yes, I do believe there is no good way to photograph refried beans...occupational hazard.

Produce Prep - Lettuce

I'm one of those wacko people who really enjoys grocery shopping. Clothes, purses, shoes...meh. Food, I'M IN!! Nothing disturbs me more, though, than buying beautiful, fresh produce only to find it wimpy and sad in the refrigerator two days later. Who wants to eat that?? Not me! Thanks again to our friends on Pinterest and based on my own trial and error I've come up with a routine of produce prep that extends the life of my food drastically. "Lettuce" talk about lettuce, shall we (see what I did there)?

You've selected your lettuce of choice. I'm on a romaine kick right now and just can't help it! I start by cutting off the base, usually 1 - 2 inches depending on coloring. Use your own best judgement. By the time I got around to taking care of my lettuce this weekend it had browned a bit more than I would have liked so I whacked a little more liberally that I normally do (it's what happens when you start prepping when you should be going to bed).

I typically throw it all into a clean sink of clean water, after all you do want it to come out better than when you put it in, right? I allow it to soak just long enough to grab my container and lay a paper towel in the base of the dish.

 Begin removing lettuce from the water and drying briefly on a towel. Sometimes I do a leaf or two at a time by hand. Other times I lay the towel out and place a handful at a time down and pat dry (very gently). Once it has been dried layer it into your dish.

 Add another paper towel to the top for good measure.

 Put the lid on it stick it in the refrigerator! I've had my lettuce leaves last up to two weeks (seems to be relative to how much water I dry off before placing in the dish but I'm still studying up on that).

 PRO's:

• Clean lettuce, ready at a moments notice
• Can be chopped for salads, shredded for toppings (tacos, anyone??), or left whole for lettuce wraps

CON's:

• No more excuses for NOT having a salad! :)
• Bulky storage  **A quick note on this...I've seen people place their lettuce in a bag to be a bit more compact but found I was too careless and wound up squishing my lettuce more often than not. The storage container works best for me AND acts as an additional shelf in my fridge. 

Healthy Snacking - Apples with PB Yogurt Dip

I have a bit of a confession. I L-O-V-E peanut butter. I don't really care if it's on bread, pancakes, apples, Oreo's, ice cream or on a spoon right out of the jar (not that I would ever do that...**throat clearing**). The first time I jumped on the "healthy" food bandwagon I all but eliminated peanut butter from my diet. WHAT WAS I THINKING!?!? Seriously, peanut butter is delicious, is a nice protein source, and is basically the glue that holds my sanity together (better start buying in bulk!!).

Thanks to my fellow PB lovers on Pinterest I found this idea. I've modified it slightly (because that's just what I do...and so can you) and can't get over how wonderful it is!

Easy PB Yogurt Dip
1/3 cup plain Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon natural peanut butter
Cinnamon to taste
1 apple, sliced

Combine the yogurt, peanut butter and cinnamon. Stir well. Serve with apples (or graham crackers, or bananas, or off your finger).

As written and based on my own calculations, WWPP 4.